Berkey Light Water Filter Review

I purchased the Berkey Light water filter a few months ago.  When I made the purchase I also had the option of getting a free accessory.  I decided that the portable sport bottle would go well in my 72-hour kit (Bug out Bag).

Here are some of the stats on the Berkey Light filter:

  • Can process 6000 gallons of water
  • 2 1/2 gallon storage chamber
  • Filters 3.75 gallons of water per hour
  • Includes elevated base

Set up for the water filter is quite easy.  There are three main pieces: the upper chamber, lower chamber, and base.  All three simply snap together.  The spigot and filters are fitted with some washers and thumb nuts.  Setup is 5 minutes if you are taking it slow.

The first thing that you must do before filtering water is to prime the filters.  Berkey provides a rubber gasket that you can to prime the filter from any water tap.  My concern is that what if you are using an untrusted water source to prime your water?  In that instance you are going to have to toss out the first couple of gallons of water, then thoroughly clean the bottom chamber.  If you don’t have access to any pressurized water source then you can get your filter to 70% efficiency by soaking the filter nozzle side up in water for several hours.  If you use this method then make sure that the nozzle is above water.  The Berkey FAQ provides additional insight into how the filters work.

After setting up, priming and filtering a few gallons of water I decided a taste test was in order.  I got three glasses of water: 1 from the tap, 1 from the Berkey, and one from by refridgerator which has a Brita water filter installed.  After letting all three glasses come to room tempurature (so the cold water didn’t have an advantage) I did a rather informal blind taste test.

The Brita and Berkey filter water both tasted excellent.  The tap water was obvious.  I actually ended up picking the Brita water as my favorite in the test, but it was very close.  I’m sure that since I’ve been drinking the Brita water for so long that my taste buds were more attuned to that.  My conclusion though was that the Berkey water was just as good as any filtered water I’ve had.

At this point I would definitely recommend the Berkey Water filters.  The Berkey Light fit my budget, and had a good capacity.  Looking back however I would probably get one of the stainless steel models.  The main reason for this is that they look much nicer.  I had the Berkey Light in the kitchen for about a week when I first got it.  By the end of that time my wife wanted it gone because it was too ugly.

Originally posted at http://www.thelances.net/james/2009/08/berkey_light_water_filter_revi.html

16 Replies to “Berkey Light Water Filter Review”

  1. We absolutely LOVE our Berkey Light water filter, or more accurately, purifier. and I think it looks just find in the kitchen, we have ours on a shelf over the sink. It is essential for us, we get good water from a well, but we store it in a large tank, so for drinking purposes, we filter the water through the Berkey Light, it tastes great and we don’t have to worry about what might be growing in the tank. :)

    I suggest that when setting up a new Berkey Light and on occasion when using one, that you test it with Koolaid or food coloring just to make sure the filters are working and that you have it put together right. Our first set of filters had a faulty filter, it looked like it had been dropped before I ever received it. It worked fine for a month, then the water seemed to pour too quickly through that cartridge, I tested it with food color and sure enough, the color was coming through, the Berkey people replaced the cartridge with no questions asked.

  2. We absolutely LOVE our Berkey Light water filter, or more accurately, purifier. and I think it looks just find in the kitchen, we have ours on a shelf over the sink. It is essential for us, we get good water from a well, but we store it in a large tank, so for drinking purposes, we filter the water through the Berkey Light, it tastes great and we don’t have to worry about what might be growing in the tank. :)

    I suggest that when setting up a new Berkey Light and on occasion when using one, that you test it with Koolaid or food coloring just to make sure the filters are working and that you have it put together right. Our first set of filters had a faulty filter, it looked like it had been dropped before I ever received it. It worked fine for a month, then the water seemed to pour too quickly through that cartridge, I tested it with food color and sure enough, the color was coming through, the Berkey people replaced the cartridge with no questions asked.

  3. The Berkey Light is the most flexible and adaptable everpure water filter available providing reliable, user friendly, powerful yet economical water filtration and purification while enhancing the ambience of any environment.

  4. .., the use of shelf in the kitchen is very advisable today since there are lots of people who have many stuffs in the kitchen… this will make an an organized environment…

  5. Thanks for the real scientific review – NOT! No lab testing? No addressing the issue that this is a Chinese company posing as British Berkefeld?
    BUT, it tastes as good as the $5 filter…that is conclusive

  6. Please do the red dye test to make sure your filters are working properly. There are many people on different preparedness sites who have defective filters. Berkey has a prorated warranty so if you do not discover the problem quickly you will be out more money.

  7. Approximately three years ago we purchased a stainless steel
    Travel Berkey from you. As many others in the survival community we put it away
    with our other supplies until recently when we brought it out to familiarize
    ourselves with it’s use. On the first attempt both ceramic filters separated
    from their plastic tops, falling to the bottom. We discovered that the tops
    were only adhered to the filters with a hot glue gun, really, you’d expect
    better considering the cost of this appliance! We went to our local hardware
    store and purchased a hot glue gun and heavy duty glue sticks and hoped that we
    had fixed the problem, no such luck, they came apart again!

    I have just visited your page relating to the defect I have
    just described only to find out that due to time limit on the warranty I will have no
    recourse except to spend another hundred plus dollars to replace the filters! As it has been at least three years since
    this product was purchased I no longer have the sales receipts or no idea which
    card I used to purchase it, not that it would do me any good as due to it’s age
    I would not receive a replacement anyway!

    I am positive that I am NOT the only one in this situation
    who has put their Berkey away for future use before using it and discovering
    this defect in it’s design and manufacture. Therefore I feel obligated to make
    this situation known to as many as possible before they find out to late that
    the Berkey they purchased and trusted in to provide safe drinking water in an
    emergency will definitely fail them. Along with the purchasers of these faulty
    products I feel it is important that the those who advertise this product on
    their site should also be made aware of the situation as this scenario will
    ultimately reflect poorly on them as well.

    Thank goodness we discovered this situation in time, I would
    have hated to discover it under different circumstances. Since we are leery of purchasing any
    replacement filters and feel we have invested enough money without satisfaction
    from your company we will look elsewhere for another brand of water filtering
    system. Thanks for absolutely nothing! Sincerely; Suzan Lamb

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